Australia set up a government Office of AI on 15 July 2026. It sits inside the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet — the top layer of Australia's public service. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced it the same day in a speech called "AI in Australia's interests" (pm.gov.au).

The Australian government called the office a "world first" for bringing AI work together across government, according to RNZ (RNZ). Reuters reported the office will coordinate AI rules and make Australia a more attractive place for AI companies to invest, by making it clearer how to get projects approved (Reuters).

Albanese also promised new laws "early next year" for large data centres. Data centres are the big warehouse-like buildings full of computers that run AI systems. They use large amounts of electricity and water. The proposed laws would require data centres to produce as much energy as they use, and limit their water use (ThePrint). The Australian Government posted on its official Facebook page that it will introduce a "world-leading" artificial intelligence framework (Facebook).

This isn't happening from a standing start. Australia announced a new AI Safety Institute in November 2025, which began operating in early 2026 (industry.gov.au). The National AI Centre launched a website called AI.gov.au in May 2026 to help organisations understand and use AI (industry.gov.au). A Senate committee on AI was set up back in March 2024 (industry.gov.au).

New Zealand is taking a different path. RNZ describes the government's approach as "lighthanded" — meaning fewer rules and no central AI office. At the same time, the government wants to spread AI use quickly across public agencies and businesses. But when RNZ tried to find out what advice the government has actually received about AI's costs and benefits, the request hit delays.

In New Zealand, the Official Information Act (OIA) lets anyone ask the government for information. The government has 20 working days to respond. RNZ asked Finance Minister Nicola Willis for advice she had received about the costs or benefits of AI in government. After 15 working days, Willis passed the request to Public Service and Digitising Minister Paul Goldsmith. His office waited 19 working days before telling RNZ the response would be delayed by more than another month, to 24 August.

Dr Andrew Lensen, an AI expert at Victoria University, told RNZ's Midday Report that Australia's move was a "kick up the bum for New Zealand leaders." His comments ran on a Thursday.

The broader context here is that the two countries are heading in different directions. Australia has put AI coordination at the centre of its government, with a safety institute, a committee process, and a dedicated website. New Zealand has chosen a lighter touch, letting existing agencies and businesses figure it out on their own. Whether that approach holds up when Australia next door is building all this new machinery is something opposition MPs and policy analysts are likely to question.

The OIA delay also says something about how prepared New Zealand ministers are on AI. A request was passed between two ministers, ran up against the legal deadline, and then got pushed out by more than a month. For a government that says it wants AI adopted quickly across the public service, not being able to produce any advice on costs and benefits within the legal timeframe is a telling sign about how much work has actually been done.

Goldsmith's office has not yet released the requested advice. The new deadline of 24 August, if met, would come more than two months after the original request was lodged.